


Beautiful

by dmitrydechagny



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Era, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Sweet, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-18 01:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21519883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dmitrydechagny/pseuds/dmitrydechagny
Summary: In which Merlin finds out that Kilgharrah knew it was Gwen’s destiny to be the most beautiful woman to ever exist.Set in the year between season 3 and season 4. Can be read as romantic or platonic. Basically this is just Merlin getting overwhelmed by how beautiful Gwen is and then Merlin and Gwen spend the afternoon together being soft.
Relationships: Gwen & Merlin (Merlin), Gwen/Merlin (Merlin)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on twitter @labyrinthgedref to see me rant about how beautiful gwen is

Merlin had a problem. Well, it wasn’t really a problem. It was far from a problem. It was simply a thought--a thought he had over a hundred times a day. He’d ranted to Gaius about it for hours before, endlessly filling the air as they worked with his mind’s fixation, but Gaius was away tending to an exceptionally ill patient in one of the outlying villages. Hypothetically, he could talk to Arthur about it. Merlin knew they both shared this thought; however, he was not sure what would happen if they acknowledged this fact and did not want to find out.

So Merlin did the only thing he could.

“She’s just so beautiful,” Merlin said to Kilgharrah for the tenth time since they had met in the clearing. The old dragon laughed and Merlin made a face. “If you are laughing at Gwen-,”

“No, young warlock. I am not laughing at her, nor am I laughing at you, truly. I laugh because you are right,” the dragon said.

“Of course I am,” Merlin said as it Gwen’s beauty was as obvious as Arthur’s prattishness. “She’s the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“You and Arthur are not the only ones with destinies, Merlin.” Kilgharrah seemed as if he intended to just leave it there, but Merlin would not allow that.

“What do you mean?” he pressed.

The dragon continued his vagueness and said, “Guinevere has her own destiny you have yet to learn about.”

Merlin became frustrated in that moment and began to yell, “Gwen has a destiny that you never told me about? You never thought to bring this up? I need to protect her. How am I supposed to-,”

“Slow down, Merlin,” Kilgharrah chuckled. “I did not mention it, because it was not relevant, but now it appears you have discovered it yourself.” Merlin wondered what it was that he discovered. Gwen’s beauty? It did not seem like much to discover. Anyone was able to recognize it from just a glance at her across the street. “Just as stories of Arthur’s reign and your bond will live long in the minds of men, Guinevere’s image will last in legend for thousands of years to come. Tales of her beauty, kindness, and wisdom will be remembered until the end of time. She is destined to be the most beautiful woman to ever exist.”

Tears of joy ran down Merlin’s face. He had known that Guinevere was, truly, the most beautiful woman in the world since the day they met, but he fact that it would be acknowledged, that everyone for thousands of years would remember Gwen the way he did, filled him with such happiness. He was overwhelmed with his love for her and the fact that others would love her long after they were both gone was consuming.

“I need to go,” Merlin said to Kilgharrah.

Merlin all, but leapt the way home to the citadel. He stopped only for a moment to pick flowers for Gwen when they caught his eye. He could not resist the urge to give her some of the pink, white, and purple wildflowers that he knew would complement her so perfectly. After creating a small bouquet, Merlin ran to Gwen’s house. He knocked on the door sharply and when Gwen opened the door, he pulled her into a hug. Merlin lifted Gwen off her feet and spun her around, the two of them laughing and smiling so hard it hurt.

After Merlin put Gwen down, he handed her the flowers.

“What are these for?” she asked.

Deciding it would be too difficult to explain that a dragon told him it was her destiny to be remembered as the most beautiful woman of all time and he became so excited he had to come see her, Merlin said, “Nothing. Just because,” and pressed a kiss to Gwen’s forehead. She smiled widely again then invited him in. She began to prepare a pot of tea for them as she told him about her day. Merlin stood behind her, wrapping her in his arms while she worked and leaning his head on top of hers.

“Today I talked to the King about the weather. There was a chill in the air when I woke up this morning. I think autumn is starting to really come.” Merlin listened intently, smiling into Gwen’s hair as she spoke.

When the tea was ready, Merlin turned her around and held her hands. He leaned in to kiss her forehead again before saying, “dance with me.” Gwen grinned and they begun to dance around her small home. Merlin twirled and dipped Gwen, humming a melody he remembered from a small festival long ago in Ealdor. Gwen stood high up on her toes to clumsily spin Merlin around and they giggled merrily at her attempt to defy their height difference.

Once they were thoroughly out of breath, Merlin and Gwen sat down at the table to drink their tea, which had cooled to just enough to be drinkable without being too cool. _There was something about this afternoon_ , Merlin thought as the light hit Gwen in the exactly right way, highlighting every part of her face and exaggerating her radiance. _Everything is perfect._

After their tea, Merlin and Gwen sat on her bed in comfortable silence as Merlin carefully braided the flowers he picked earlier into her hair. Gwen’s hair was soft as the finest linen, like the bedsheets the two of them changed every day, but could only dream of sleeping on. It smelled sweet like honey and the scent was enhanced by the wildflowers. Gwen relaxed at Merlin’s touches. Eventually, she quietly broke the silence by saying, “I’m so glad you’re here with me, Merlin.”

Merlin tied off her hair with a ribbon and was about to say there was nowhere he would rather be than with Gwen before she turned to look back at him. The sunset peered through the windows and cast a golden glow on her face that took his breath away.

All he could possibly think to say was, “ **You’re so beautiful, Gwen**.”


End file.
